Posts Tagged Brokerage

What is the best affordable suburb in Oregon?

Posted by Danny in Real estate on March 16th, 2010

What is the best affordable suburb in Oregon? According to Business Week, it is in Beaverton at Oak Hills.

From Business Week:

Oak Hills, Ore.

Nearest major city: Portland
Population: 11,255
Median family income: $92,884
Median home price: $289,950
Unemployment rate: 9%
Violent crime index: 18

Oak Hills is one of the nicer neighborhoods of Beaverton, Portland’s largest suburb with the state’s third-largest school district. The Oak Hills development, well-known locally for its active homeowners association, has single-family homes and town houses on larger-than-average lots and includes a clubhouse, swimming pool, and recreation center. It is a pedestrian-friendly area and is close to the freeway and shopping centers. Homes here have become an even better value during the recession: The average home value in the area dropped about 15% to 20% in 2009 and has stabilized, according to a local realtor.

If you have any questions are interested in homes in Oak Hills, Beaverton, Portland, or the surrounding metropolitan area, please give me a call at 503-267-8370 or email at dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com.

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Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) goes into effect on April 5, 2010

Posted by Danny in Short Sales and Foreclosure on February 19th, 2010

If you have questions concerning this program or know a distressed home owner in need of viable options, please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)

On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP is available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

HAFA applies to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which will issue their own versions of HAFA in coming weeks.

HAFA is a complex program, with 43 pages of guidelines and forms, designed to simplify and streamline use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. HAFA:

  • Complements HAMP by providing a viable alternative for borrowers (the current homeowners) who are HAMP eligible but nevertheless unable to keep their home.
  • Uses borrower financial and hardship information already collected in connection with consideration of a loan modification.
  • Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sales terms before listing the property (including the minimum acceptable net proceeds).
  • Prohibits the servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).
  • Requires borrowers to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed).
  • Uses standard processes, documents, and timeframes/deadlines.
  • Provides financial incentives: $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance; $1,000 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs; and up to $1,000 for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders (on a one-for-three matching basis).
  • Requires all servicers participating in HAMP to implement HAFA in accordance with their own written policy, consistent with investor guidelines. The policy may include factors such as the severity of the potential loss, local markets, timing of pending foreclosure actions, and borrower motivation and cooperation.

The program does not take effect until April 5, 2010, but servicers may implement it before then if they meet certain requirements. The program sunsets on December 31, 2012.

Source: http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/short_sales_hafa

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Portland-Metro real estate market conditions for February 2010

Posted by Danny in Monthly newsletter on February 17th, 2010

We just adopted a cat from the Oregon Humane Society. His name is Cougar. After a month in a shelter, he really seems to appreciate our home office as his starting room and to explore the rest of our house. He is also looking forward to trying out the deck. We appreciate having two floors with a baby gate on the top and bottom of the stairs, making it easier to introduce him to our other cat Gracie Joy. Did we have these features in mind when buying our home or baby-proofing it? I would have to say no.

In other news, my mother-in-law has just begun a three week visit. She has so far enjoyed sharing the room with Cougar. I am glad to continue sleeping in my own room during her visit. During the Valentines/Presidents Day weekend, we celebrated our love and patriotism by finishing the conversion of the home office to a guest room with office functionality. Meanwhile, the second office desk has been moved into our master bedroom. The idea is that neither desk is personalized and therefore usable for either my wife or I as needed. Mackenzie continues to enjoy a bedroom without a desk or work, though she is showing a lot of interest in both. You do not always have to change where you live to change how you live, but I am here to help if you want to buy or sell a home.

The Portland-Metro real estate market activity improved last month over the same period a year ago. Closed sales were up 34.7% versus January 2009 and pending sales increased by 24.3%, but new listings dropped by 6.2%.

Comparing last month to December 2009, pending sales were up 34.5% but closed sells fell by the same percentage. New listings increased by 87.1%! The drop in closed sales combined with the rise in new listings increased active inventory, which is calculated by dividing the total number of active listings for a month and dividing it by the number of closed sales. It would take about 12.6 months to sell the 12,449 active residential listings.

Sale prices for last month were down compared to January 2009 by 5%, and the median sale price also decreased by 4%. January 2010 sale prices were also down when viewed against December 2009 with average prices dropping by 3.7% while the median price slightly decreased by 0.9%.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, now is the perfect time to buy. There are plenty of properties available, sale prices have continued to drop, and interest rates are low. Additionally, if eligible, the extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit is available if in a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.

Would you like to receive more detailed information about?

  • Realtor services?
  • The extended and expanded home buyer’s tax credit?
  • Interest rates?
  • Your neighborhood or neighborhoods of interest?

Please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

All statistics listed are quoted from the January 2010 issue of RMLS Market Action. The Regional Multiple Listing Service releases the previous month’s statistics near the 15th of the current month.

Tax credit information provided by the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=215791,00.html?portlet=7

Additional tax credit information provided by the National Association of Realtors FAQ on Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes, available on request.

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Oregon First’s Northeast Office is hosting a fundraiser for the Oregon Humane Society.

Posted by Danny in Brokerage on January 26th, 2010

Black LabSad EyesBullTonguePeppyHamburger

This Thursday, Oregon First’s NE office is hosting a
fundraiser for the Oregon Humane Society as part of the Alberta Arts
Walk Last Thursday festivities.  There will be paintings of dogs by the
artist Ron Kino for sale, animals ready for adoption, food to eat and
drinks to drink.  All donations and 1/2 of the artwork sales proceeds
will go to the Oregon Humane Society.  Our goal is to raise at least
$1,000!

Special thanks to Rex Buchanan, Principal Broker, and Stephanie Luciano,
Office Manager, both of the NE office, for all their hard work on this.
You may already have seen articles or announcements about this in
various media outlets like The Portland Tribune and OregonLive.

The NE branch is at 5136 NE Garfield Ave., about a block down from where
MLK and Alberta intersect.  Their phone number is 503-998-4592.


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Oregon Veteran programs information has been added to this site.

Posted by Danny in Veterans on January 26th, 2010

I have posted several veteran programs links to this site, including both home loan programs from the national Veterans Administration and the Oregon VA.  I recently took advantage of the IRRRL program, shaving one percent off our own mortgage with no closing costs thanks to the help of Kelly Parkman at the Northwest Mortgage Group.  There are also links for veterans from the department of Housing Urban Development, US Department of Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration.  Counseling information for veterans possibly facing foreclosure has also been listed.  Finally, there is information for veterans and their spouses to determine their eligibility to use a VA home loan or to determine if their home purchases, renovations, or improvements are eligible under the VA home loan program.

If you have any questions or need assistance in utilizing these programs, please contact me at:

dannyshepard@oregonfirst.com

503-267-8370

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